This invention relates to a package of popcorn ready for popping in a microwave oven.
The success of popcorn packaged in containers which can be used directly for popping the popcorn in a microwave oven is evident not only by the steadily increasing sales of such packaged popcorn over the last several years, but also by the proliferation of patents issued in the area.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,973,045, issued to Brandberg et al., discloses a popcorn packaged in a flexible and expandable package such as a gussetted bag formed from paper. The package is sealed to permit internal pressure to develop to expand the bag so that the corn has sufficient space for the increased volume after popping.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,038,425 to Brandberg et al. discloses as a combined popping and shipping package for popcorn a package composed of a dual compartmented container. The first compartment is relatively small and contains the charge of popcorn; the second compartment is larger and provided with pleats, folds or gussets to enable it to expand to hold the popped kernels.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,219,573 to Borek discloses an expandable popcorn bag, one wall of which has a thermal insulating pad associated therewith to improve the popping performance of the popcorn by preventing heat loss from the package to the oven floor.
U.S Pat. No. 4,292,332 to McHam discloses an expansible container for popping popcorn comprising a closed bag of flexible sheet material having its upper side provided with a pattern of weakness that serves as an excess vapor pressure release during the popping and which thereafter serves for convenient opening of the container so that it may be used as a serving tray.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,450,180 and 4,548,826 to Watkins disclose a popcorn bag formed from a flexible sheet material of collateral tubular configuration, i.e., comprising two parallel longitudinally extending sections communicating together at the center of the package. Substantially all of the popcorn and fat is placed within one tubular section and the other is maintained free of popcorn. During the popping, the empty tubular section is free to expand as it fills with popcorn.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,031 to Blamer discloses a tubular bag for containing and microwave cooking popcorn. The bag has a closed bottom end, the bottom end having a strength against rupture that exceeds the rupture strength of a future closure at the mouth or upper end of the bag.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,503,559 to Warnke discloses a bag designed to facilitate the separation of popcorn from unpopped kernels and providing a convenient bag for holding the popped corn while a person eats it. The bag has an outer bag of fine mesh and an inner bag of coarser mesh through which unpopped corn can pass, thereby separating it from the popped corn.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,553,010 and 4,678,882 to Bohrer et al. disclose a microwave popcorn container formed from a single blank, e.g. of paperboard, having a bottom panel coated with a microwave interactive material adding heat to the popcorn to be cooked. The container is configured so that the popcorn kernels placed into it are spaced, on average, no more than the average diameter of one kernel away from the microwave interactive panel.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,571,337 to Cage et al. disclose a bag for cooking popcorn in a microwave oven. The bag has a bottom panel, a top panel, a back panel and inwardly folded gusseted side panels such that the bag can be flattened along the top edge opposite the bottom panel. The top edge seal opens before popping is completed to release steam and prevent the popped corn from becoming too chewy.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,584,202 to Roccaforte discloses a package allowing the popping of popcorn in site within a pouch contained in a carton. The carton has a tear-away portion in its top panel which is removed when the package is put into the microwave oven. The pouch is folded in the carton so that the edges of the folded pouch are disposed beneath the opening formed by removal of the tear-away portion. The top panel of the carton includes marginal constraining portions bounding the opening which constrain the pouch once the popcorn has commenced popping.
Thus, a number of different packages for popcorn, suitable for providing stable storage for the unpopped corn, for containing the corn during popping in a microwave oven, and for use as a serving container for the popped corn, have been developed and have met with success in the marketplace. The need still exists for package configurations which will provide better results for the consumer, both in terms of popping efficiency and a satisfactory tasting product, as well as configurations which can be brought to the consumer at a lower cost than those currently available.